Strong support of Cyprus to the European path and territorial integrity of Serbia

The head of Serbian diplomacy, speaking to the press after the meeting, said that his visit to Cyprus aimed to further strengthen the ties between two friendly countries and peoples.

"Cyprus is a country that can count on Serbia's one hundred percent support on all key national issues. We are aware that only a week ago you marked the sad anniversary of the occupation of a part of your territory, and we stand one hundred percent behind you and the people of Cyprus in your struggle", Djuric emphasized.

The head of Serbian diplomacy underlined that, if there is a people in the world that fully understands how the people of Cyprus feel, it is the people of Serbia.

Djuric thanked Cyprus for its principled support to respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia.

"We reciprocate equally. We see your country as an indivisible country of unity, and we fully support you in all the negotiations you are conducting", the Minister stressed.

According to Minister Djuric, the two countries maintained mutual cooperation in many areas, which needed to be strengthened further, especially in the economic sphere.

"Tourism is the link that connects the two countries and we want as many Serbian tourists as possible to go and visit Cyprus in the coming years. We are also very grateful to you for supporting and encouraging people from Cyprus to come and visit Belgrade", Djuric said, assessing that cooperation should be expanded to the fields of defence and education.

When it comes to political dialogue, Djuric noted that the two countries would continue working on intergovernmental cooperation, as well as that it was planned to hold a number of intergovernmental meetings by the end of the year, in order to define the time frame for achieving common goals.

He underlined that Serbia would continue to be a factor of stability and peace in the Balkan region.

"We are grateful to Cyprus for supporting Serbia on its EU path, because this is Serbia's strategic goal. Serbia, your friendly nation in the Balkans, is developing at a fast pace. More than two-thirds of our exports go to the EU, and we want to have a full seat at the European table, because we believe that with our economy and our society we can make an invaluable contribution to the European project", Djuric concluded.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus Constantinos Kombos pointed out that the visit of the Serbian head of diplomacy was an opportunity to reaffirm the continuity of the excellent relations between the two countries and to declare, once again, the political will to enhance the cooperation.

Kombos reiterated Cyprus’ support for Serbia’s European Union accession process, which he said lies in parallel with the European perspective of the Western Balkans.

"We remain ready to provide any technical support to Serbia that is needed. We also welcome and encourage Serbia’s efforts to proceed with the necessary reforms that will widen the path towards achieving full membership”, Minister Kombos said.

Reiterating Cyprus’ principled position towards Serbia, which is grounded in the principles of international law, regarding territorial integrity and respect for sovereignty, Kombos noted that Cyprus supported the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

"We welcome Serbia’s consistent and constructive engagement, which unfortunately is not being reciprocated. Therefore, I expressed our concern regarding, firstly, the stalemate in the negotiations and secondly, the unilateral and highly obstructive actions by Pristina”, concluded the Foreign Minister of Cyprus.